Parking
Park around the edges of Reeth’s central village green; several points use honesty boxes. Start by the National Park Centre / Hudson House.
Overview
About Reeth and Healaugh Circular
A closed circular walk of 3 miles / 4.5 km, measured as the full loop, typically taking about 1 to 1.5 hours with around 84 m of ascent. It is graded easy to moderate: low level and mostly valley walking on short lanes and field paths.
Why go
- Low-level valley views and a riverside finish
- Short loop linking Reeth and Healaugh
Heads up
- Field paths can be wet and uneven
- Livestock, gates and short road sections
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yorkshire Dales map
Full mapElevation181–223 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
1 active Yorkshire Dales alert
- ClosureTemporary closures on public rights of wayAvoid the listed sections of public rights of way while their temporary closures or pedestrian prohibition are in force. - Public Bridleway No. 52 (05.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide
Your drive to Reeth and Healaugh Circular, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yorkshire Dales National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Reeth Village Green0:00 / 0:33
“You're coming up on Reeth, a village gathered around a broad green above the River Swale.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yorkshire Dales Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Long Road to Grinton
- The Older Healaugh on the Hill
- The Flock Lost at Cogden Hall
- Why It Is Called Surrender Bridge
- 298 audio storiesacross Yorkshire Dales’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Eurasian Otter, Atlantic Salmon, Short-eared Owl, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 99 trails, 63 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Reeth and Healaugh Circular
Sequence and payoffThe walk starts at the National Park Centre in Reeth and threads out of the village through a…
The walk starts at the National Park Centre in Reeth and threads out of the village through a narrow ginnel, then follows a lane past the doctor's surgery. From there field paths open onto broad Swaledale views as you make your way to Healaugh. The return runs beside the River Swale and back into Reeth, so the loop ends on water rather than retracing the outward lanes.
SceneryThe interest lies in contrast: two very different Dales villages at either end, enclosed fields…
The interest lies in contrast: two very different Dales villages at either end, enclosed fields and stone walls in between, open valley views on the higher sections, and the river alongside you for the final stretch.
Footing and difficultyExpect a mix of surfaces, including short stretches of road walking near the villages, plus…
Expect a mix of surfaces, including short stretches of road walking near the villages, plus gates or stiles and fields with livestock. Some ground is uneven or wet, which is the main thing that slows the walk down. This is not a remote fell day, and the terrain stays modest throughout.
Access and parkingThe official start is the National Park Centre and visitor access point in Reeth.
The official start is the National Park Centre and visitor access point in Reeth. Parking is available around the edges of Reeth's central village green, and the National Park notes that several points use honesty boxes.
Dogs and countryside careDogs are allowed on public rights of way.
Dogs are allowed on public rights of way. Keep them on a lead around livestock, and use a short lead from March through July to protect ground-nesting birds. Keep to rights of way and leave gates as you found them.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yorkshire Dales
10 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsAtlantic SalmonMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsShort-eared OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
22 sightingsWestern Barn OwlMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
27 sightingsTawny OwlMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
34 sightingsCommon KingfisherMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yorkshire Dales. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
